


Review of The Herald of a New Age

by yourlibrarian



Series: Reviews [9]
Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Episode Review, Episode: s04e10 The Herald of a New Age, Gen, Meta
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-30
Updated: 2016-04-30
Packaged: 2018-06-05 13:34:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,360
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6706399
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yourlibrarian/pseuds/yourlibrarian
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>I found this to be one of the more enjoyable episodes of the season.  Although there are some inexplicable things in it, for the most part it seems well thought through in terms of themes and conflicts.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Review of The Herald of a New Age

**Author's Note:**

> Originally posted March 10, 2012

I found this to be one of the more enjoyable episodes of the season. Although there are some inexplicable things in it (why, for one, do Merlin and Arthur let Elyan run off after the fight in the conference room) for the most part it seems well thought through in terms of themes and conflicts.

To start with the obvious, this episode finally gave one of the knights his own storyline, which is something we've only semi-gotten with Lancelot (in both his departure and return). I really feel that broadening out which characters get to do things is important long-term for a show, as it leads to more diverse thinking in the writing. That it is Elyan who is targeted seems absolutely necessary in the storyline, since we are easily led to believe what the other characters think -- that both Arthur and Elyan are upset about Gwen's departure. While it doesn't say much about Gwen that it, in fact, isn't, the storyline allows the audience to feel complicit in knowing that Elyan has a more unexpected motivation. Yet at the same time, one could argue that Elyan's feelings of compassion and vengeance prime him for being susceptible to possession, for surely the people who know him well wouldn't so easily jump to that conclusion were there no basis for it. So I was pretty satisfied with his side of the storyline.

Part of that satisfaction comes from the fact that I didn't see the twist coming. It is, after all, perfectly believable that Uther would have committed atrocities with lingering effects, and from the first moment I assumed that Uther was "the king" since he is recently dead. But I found I really loved the fact that it was Arthur. For one thing, I prefer it when characters are fallible, and while Arthur can still show off his jerkish side, for the most part that's been buried under his responsibilities and general maturity compared to earlier seasons (even though his character suffers more than most with senseless indignities for the sake of some humor in the series). And while his vulnerability to comparisons with Uther have long been shown as Arthur's achilles heel, I like the fact that this episode reveals the darkness that can lead to. It's not difficult at all to imagine a still younger version of the prince we meet in the first episode being both reckless and dense about the impact of his actions.

So it's very interesting to realize in retrospect what was actually troubling him from the first moments in which he entered the haunted area. When Merlin spoke of curses, my immediate assumption was that after the unicorn incident, Arthur of all people should be wary of triggering disastrous events with foolish blundering. And clearly Merlin is as surprised as the audience is supposed to be by the revelation of whose hand was behind the massacre. 

Aside from the generally wonderful performance Bradley James gave in this episode, I liked how this dark secret (and the larger implication that there are more we don't know about) evens the balance a bit with Merlin and Arthur. Because in general, we see the various characters through Merlin's eyes and certainly the series as a whole through his POV. While Arthur was clearly complicit in only rarely standing up to Uther's excesses it is a fairly forgivable offense. One cannot hold a child accountable for the sins of their parents, especially when, as they come to maturity, they clearly do not agree and even attempt to change circumstances. It's even tougher when, as in Arthur's case, he is expected to follow in Uther's footsteps in bigger ways than the usual father-son stereotype. It's never simply a family matter for them, either their relationship or the scale of their decisions, because many other people are invested in the outcomes.

One thing that's bothered me this whole season has been that I'm increasingly unconvinced that Merlin deserves Arthur's forgiveness for his continued deception. Perhaps part of this is the sometimes buffoonish way Arthur's been written, so that one questions how he could ever have been thought a great king or even decent employer. Merlin knows so much of what's "really" going on and so clearly expresses his frustration with his lack of recognition (this episode being another example) that it often seems aggrandizing given Arthur's dense ignorance. It rather seems like taking advantage of a not terribly bright child, and, as Merlin himself points out in this episode, he lies to everyone, it isn't at all restricted to his magic. Uther was so obstinately stupid, and Arthur seems like a chip off that thick block, with the royals continually being played for fools by every passing sorcerer or ill-wisher, or one of their own in first Morgana and now in Agravaine, that it certainly makes Merlin look both wise and competent by comparison.

So the idea that neither of these two are going into their eventual partnership with particularly clean hands is satisfying to me, as well as the idea that Merlin is deluding himself to some degree with who Arthur is as much as he is deliberately deluding Arthur in presenting himself as a simple slacker. It also highlights that Arthur is likely always going to be something of a mystery to Merlin, even though their relationship at this point has evolved a great deal from the time that Arthur was clearly an incomprehensible stranger.

All that said, I thought Merlin's role and reactions to being shut out also worked nicely. Man, does Camelot need better guards though -- not just the barrel chasing pair in the dungeons but the fact that Arthur had to yell for the guards given Elyan's attack.

Something else I found myself consciously thinking as the episode went on, is that it's refreshing to see that these men aren't always particularly nice to one another, and yet this is considered to be perfectly normal. If there's something I find a complete change of pace from fanfic, it's that they goad one another physically as well as with banter. There's probably nothing I enjoy in this series more than the Merlin-Arthur banter, which was quite good in this episode as well. But while fanfic writers often do a great job with this, I am much more likely to run across Merlin-the-deeply-misunderstood fics than anything that resembles the waterbag keepaway, or one knight simply decking another out of annoyance. 

The fact that the writers use these forms of mild harassment among the knights to set up plot points (Elyan being thirsty enough to go to the well, or in Aithusa, Merlin being the only one who doesn't eat the poisoned stew) may get a little predictable, but I like how it sets up the relationships as competitive and even sometimes prickly. Maybe it's because this is often played too softly in American TV, or perhaps the writers feel it's a way of undermining the legendary aspects of these characters in the series. Or perhaps it's just playing into stereotypes, the idea that jocks are not the most sensitive of people. But whatever the reasons, I find this somewhat refreshing in the stories' refusal to coddle any particular character (which is also why I found 4.09's treatment of Gwen to be unsatisfying).

Just as an aside, I also liked Gaius' role in the episode. It seemed to be well written and played for everyone concerned. 

Lastly, one thing the series seems to be pretty poor at is carryover from one episode to the next. For example, we still see Merlin and Gaius doing nothing to undermine or expose Agravaine. So I'm going to assume that Arthur's vow to treat the Druids differently isn't going to lead to anything, even though I would have assumed Merlin would have taken this as a major step in Arthur's view of magic. Then again we're almost at season's end so maybe it won't be a forgotten footnote. And I will also assume that, since only Merlin and Arthur know what transpired, that Arthur has decided not to concern himself with what anyone thinks of his decision to pardon Elyan.


End file.
